Four Tips for Team Effectiveness

           Working effectively in a team is extremely important in today’s world. Here are four tips to be more effective in a team. First, make sure everyone has a clear vision and understands the objective or goal (Mochal). Second, collaborate as a team by having specific individual assignments for every team member in order to accomplish the job. Third, communicate openly, honestly, and respectfully with each other (Heathfield). Communication is extremely important in order to understand each other’s opinions and ideas. Fourth, evaluate the team’s performance; look for areas that can be improved; then repeat the steps.

Clear Vision

            Rowing a boat as a group is very difficult if everyone is paddling in different directions. It works best if you know where you are going. To work best in a group, you need to have a clear vision and understanding of where you’re going (Mochal).

Collaboration

            When I was a small boy, my mother would assign each child specific house chores to help clean the house. She would say, “We will divide and conquer in order to get done faster.”  Collaborating as a team and dividing up a large project into smaller assignments helps each individual to focus on one task.

Communication

            We all see the world differently. To be the most effective, we need to be able to communicate our ideas openly, honestly, and respectfully to others (Heathfield). If we can do this, more ideas will be shared and teams will work more efficiently.  

Evaluation

            After finishing a project or obtaining a goal, evaluate how things went. No one is perfect; there will always be something that could be improved. Evaluate yourself, your teammates, and the project as a whole. After evaluating, challenge yourself to improve and then repeat the steps.

            In conclusion, a team works more effectively if it has a clear vision or understanding of the main goal; collaborates by assigning individual smaller tasks to its members; communicates openly, honestly, and respectfully with each other to share ideas; and evaluates what can be improved. To become an effective team takes hard work but has great rewards. Apply these four steps to your group or team, and see the results for yourself. Good luck!

References:

Heathfield, S. Tips for Better Team Work? Retrieved from   http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/f/team_work.htm

Mochal, T. (2007, Nov. 12) 10 Tips For Managing Virtual Teams. Retreived from

            http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-tips-for-managing-virtual-

            teams/266/#